Knights coach Adam O’Brien believes it was “pretty clear” Roosters winger Fetalaiga Pauga should have been binned at the death in his side’s loss on Thursday night.
Newcastle fullback Kalyn Ponga made a break in the 79th minute with his side trailing 22-20 and was brought down just before the Roosters’ 40-metre line.
Ponga tried as quickly as possible to play the ball but was stifled by Pauga and the Knights star pleaded with referee Gerard Sutton for a penalty that would have given his side a penalty shot to tie the game.
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The same incident is regularly ruled a penalty in NRL games, but in the heat of the moment with the game on the line the whistle never came from Sutton and the Roosters hung on.
“I empathise, these fans, they know footy. I don’t think I’ve heard a stadium so frustrated, never heard booing like that at the end of a game so there must be something in it,” O’Brien said.
“Obviously the Kalyn one at the end stands out, you’d like to think that (is penalised) as a professional foul, sin bin, and we kick the goal… I think it was pretty clear, that one.
“With the ruck speed, it just felt like there were two different standards there. Not taking anything away from them, they work hard at their defence and stack really well, but just felt like we didn’t get many rewards.”
But O’Brien also took some responsibility for the loss and said his side needs to be better in certain areas.
“Whingeing about this tonight isn’t going to help anyone, it doesn’t help these guys,” he said.
“There was some stuff that we needed to do better and stuff I needed to do better, I think I got the interchanges wrong in the first half.
“So it’s not all that (decision at the end) but I’ve got a really disappointed dressing room that fought bloody hard tonight and me whineging in here ain’t going to help them.”
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